Monday, October 28, 2013

Guest Post: Should More Breeds Be Added to the Cup?

--Carly Silver

The name “Breeders’ Cup World
Thoroughbred Championships” indicates breed exclusivity--i.e.,

only Thoroughbred racehorses are allowed to participate in the
two-day festival. In 2013, the Cup has decided to switch its
parameters a bit, adding a race exclusively for Arabians, the
Thoroughbred horse’s ancestral breed, on Friday, Nov. 1. Called
the President of the UAE Cup, the contest is sponsored by the
Emirates Equestrian Foundation.
The past few years have seen the
Breeders’ Cup expand beyond its traditional seven-race queue. More
races have been added to cater to different divisions, like the
GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, the GII Marathon)
and the GI Juvenile Turf. These are all well and good, but what
does it mean for the Thoroughbred racing industry when its biggest
day is no longer just for its horses?
For bettors and horse fans alike,
the expansion could be beneficial. Bettors probably don’t know how
to handicap Arabian races, but they’d be up to a challenge that
comes with a significant purse and likely financial rewards. As for
those, like myself, who are general equine enthusiasts, the addition
of another breed is welcome, since we’d get to see the majesty of
another facet of the horse world in action. Arabian racing isn’t
too popular in America or Europe, so I, as a fan of any type of
horse, am eager to see how it is different from Thoroughbred dirt
racing.
Perhaps more significantly, what
does the addition of an Arabian race mean for the Breeders’ Cup
brand? Should there be other breeds’ races featured on the
undercard, like harness racing, steeplechases, and Quarter Horse
sprints? To add a whole barrage of other breeds during the dual-day
celebration would devalue the integrity of the Breeders’ Cup. The
two days of the Breeders’ Cup has, and should remain, focused on
Thoroughbred racing.
That doesn’t mean, however, that
other breeds should be entirely excluded. The Breeders’ Cup used to
just consist of one day, then it was expanded to two days of racing.
Why not create a three-day festival that features all sorts of equine
racing? Thursday could be devoted to multi-breed racing events, but
Friday and Saturday would be reserved for the traditional Breeders’
Cup competitions.
What about other horse sports, like
dressage, show jumping, and eventing? Is the Breeders’ Cup the
right repository for all equine sports? I don’t think so. As
previously mentioned, even if the Cup expands beyond Thoroughbreds in
terms of breeds, the emphasis should remain on racing. To diversify
so much would confuse patrons and the general public. The other
equine sports have their own venues and audiences.
Indeed, many dressage fans might not
take kindly to horse racing, and vice-versa; the respective sports
have their own fans. That’s not to say cross-pollination of fans is
impossible, but it’s a risk. If one were to add in show jumping or
barrel racing, for example, the Breeders’ Cup would be an all-horse
festival, which would bear little resemblance to the Cup’s original
intent.
Furthermore, to accommodate
additional equine events would be beyond the scope of most Breeders’
Cup-sponsoring tracks. It’s hard enough for tracks (assuming the
Cup continues to switch venues from year to year beyond Santa Anita
and Churchill Downs) that have smaller audiences and facilities that
must be expanded to accommodate incoming racehorses. How would such
tracks, or even the larger ovals, create spaces appropriate for show
jumpers or eventers? Such spaces are tailored to their individual
sports and have specific requirements that a track would be unlikely
able to provide. It’s one thing to say the infield could finally be
purposed for something besides crowds, but it’s another to turn it
into an eventing space full of troughs and hedges. The track would
suffer further if guests weren’t allowed to congregate in the
infield, thus depriving it of additional ticket revenue.
I’d be happy to see more racing
events accommodating all breeds on a day separate from the
traditional Cup events. All the same, the Breeders’ Cup should
remain exclusive to horse racing, regardless of the type of horse
involved. In that way, the organization could bring in additional
revenue and fans, while keeping true to its original mission.